Samantha wakes at 6:00 am to find that Jeff left hours earlier. She dresses and walks to work through the crisp winter morning. Arriving first, she performs her intern duties—making coffee and tidying the office. Watching Main Street, she realizes she has grown fond of Brady and postpones telling Mattie about the New York offer.

Mattie arrives and asks Samantha to call local lawyers to determine if the Crump family has retained counsel. Samantha’s third call is to Lee Chatham, who confirms that he represents the Crumps. He explains that the family plans to claim Francine destroyed her new will and to probate the earlier version. Samantha reveals that the clinic received the valid will and faxes him a copy. Mattie threatens to involve the sheriff if the Crumps retaliate.

Mattie then asks Samantha to handle the appeal in the Tate case. Though Samantha has never worked on an appeal, she agrees, understanding that the work will span about 15 months and require approximately 500 hours. Jeff calls and invites her to Gray Mountain on Saturday. On Friday evening, Buddy and Mavis Ryzer arrive without an appointment, distraught because Lonerock Coal fired Buddy that morning for being physically unfit.